


That Which Lights The Dark

by Lastly



Series: Aloy & Vala [4]
Category: Horizon: Zero Dawn (Video Game)
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Longing, Stargazing, Vala Lives
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-09
Updated: 2019-11-09
Packaged: 2021-01-26 05:09:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 937
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21368677
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lastly/pseuds/Lastly
Summary: "What's on your mind?" Talanah asked."Vala" Aloy absentmindedly responded."Vala?""Oh, uh, I mean... home. I'm just thinking about back home, that's all."
Relationships: Aloy/Vala (Horizon: Zero Dawn)
Series: Aloy & Vala [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1243727
Comments: 1
Kudos: 29





	That Which Lights The Dark

Aloy gazed up the star-filled night sky. She and Talanah had set up camp far away enough from Meridian that the light of the stars wasn't drowned out by all the fires that the people used to light up the big city at night. Talanah had insisted on this particular spot atop a small plateau, saying that it was too high up for most machines to get to them and anything that could get up there was almost assuredly asleep. Talanah was the more experienced hunter so Aloy let her make all the decisions about their hunt and just shot when she was told to shoot.

Aloy looked up at The Great Archer and reminisced about teaching Vala about the constellations. She hadn't wanted to leave her partner's side but they each had their own responsibilities to take care of: Vala was needed in rebuilding Mother's Heart after the attack and Aloy had to follow the path that she had hoped would lead her to the truth about her history and her family. She liked to imagine that Vala was looking up at the stars right now; the two of them gazing at the same bright points in the sky, together in heart even if they couldn't be together in body.

Talanah used one of the last sticks to poke at the campfire which had burned down to little more than embers. She tossed the stick, along with the few others that were sitting by her side, onto the fire, content that it would fine for the rest of the night. Even though she had been insistent that they needed to get plenty of rest before the hunt the following day, Talanah found it hard to fall asleep.

"Enjoying the view?" she asked across the quietly crackling fire. Her gaze moved upwards towards the sky. "The stars sure are pretty tonight."

"Yeah..." Aloy said without moving to look over at the other woman. She had been so focused on the stars that Talanah's comment had only partially registered with her. "...they are" she added after a pause.

"What's on your mind?" Talanah asked.

"Vala" Aloy absentmindedly responded.

"Vala?" Hearing the Hawk say Vala's name finally broke Aloy's concentration and made her look over at Talanah's grinning face.

"Oh, uh, I mean... home. I'm just thinking about back home, that's all." She quietly hoped that it was too dark for Talanah to see the blush that was currently warming her cheeks.

"Oh? Feeling homesick for Vala?" 

"Ah, homesick, I guess that's what it is." 

"Who's Vala?" she asked. "If you don't mind me asking, of course. You always talk about Mother's Heart, and the Embrace, and the Nora, but I don't think I've ever heard you talk about individual people before."

"I've told you about Rost, haven't I?" Aloy tried to divert the subject away from Vala. It wasn't that she didn't want to talk about her - part of her wanted to tell the entire world how Vala made her feel - it was just that she was still somewhat nervous about Talanah sponsoring her to become a Hawk. She wanted to leave a good impression as an expert hunter and not as a lovestruck fool.

"Oh, that's right, you have told me about him. But you don't usually mumble his name while gazing longingly at the stars. So, I want to hear about Vala." Talanah's grin grew. She hadn't seen Aloy like this before and was feeling extremely curious.

"She's, uh, a Nora Brave, that's all." Aloy glanced over at Talanah and was met with an expectant stare. She could tell that that wasn't actually all there was and was smiling, waiting for Aloy to continue. "She's... one of the tribe's best hunters." Aloy paused again.

"Oh, come on!" Talanah said with a small laugh. "Just tell me how much you love her, already!"

Aloy searched the sky for a constellation as far away from Talanah as possible as she tried to hide her embarrassment. "Talanah, I-"

"Just say it, Aloy! You're really bad at hiding it." Talanah loud out a louder laugh this time.

"She... she has really beautiful eyes that shine brighter than all the stars in the sky combined." Aloy paused again and felt her heart racing. She had a sort of tepid excitement about finally getting to speak the words that had been on her mind for so long. "And, well, I've told you about how I was an outcast, right? She was the only one of the Nora that accepted me without question when I first went to Mother's Heart."

"Sounds like she has a good, kind heart."

"She does." The embers of the campfire lit up Aloy's face just enough that Talanah could barely see the grin starting to grow across the Nora's face. "And she's... so warm. I... can't wait to be able to go see her again." On nights when Aloy was feeling lonely, she would imagine all the things they'd do together once she returned to Mother's Heart. It kept her going through the worst nights.

"Speaking of warm-" Talanah got up, walked over to Aloy's side of the fire, pulled one of the fur blankets out from under the other hunter, and took it back to her side.

"Hey! That's mine!" Aloy sat up and exclaimed with a laugh.

"You'll be fine" Talanah said as she wrapped the fur around her shoulders. "Just keep thinking about Vala and that big gay heart of yours will keep you plenty warm all night long."

The pair laughed. Aloy was unable to respond because she knew that Talanah was absolutely right.

**Author's Note:**

> I haven't written Talanah before and it's been ages since I played the game so hopefully she doesn't seem too out-of-character? Regardless, it was fun to finally write this idea out after having it bouncing around in my head for ages. Hope y'alls enjoyed it. ♥


End file.
